CLIENT
Mrs. T’s Pierogies/Mrs. T’s ‘Rogies.
PRODUCTION CO.
Five Union Square Productions, New York. Tom Schiller, director; Ed Stephenson, DP; Barbara Gold, executive producer; David Marks, producer. Shot on location in Jersey City, N.J.
AGENCY
Avrett, Free & Ginsberg, New York. Mindy Rosengarten, creative director; Karen Fazekas, producer; Mike Swift, copywriter; Joe Petruccio, art director.
EDITORIAL
Editing Concepts, New York. Mary Alice Williams, editor; Gala Verdugo, assistant editor; Mike Goble, producer.
POST
Nice Shoes, New York. Ed Patrowicz, online editor. The Tape House Editorial Company, New York. Rick Pagliaroli, colorist.
AUDIO POST
Mixed Nuts, New York. Joe Vagnoni, mixer.
THE SPOT
"Birthing Class" takes place in a Lamaze class, where expectant mothers are treated to Mrs. T’s ‘Rogies (mini pierogies). The :30 ends with the class dancing to the polka music of bandleader Jimmy Sturr.
Spot broke in September.
Review: Writer-Director Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail”
It's not your typical stop-motion film when characters name pets after Sylvia Plath and read "The Diary of Anne Frank" — or when the story's inspired by a quote from existentialist thinker Søren Kierkegaard. And it's certainly not your typical stop-motion film when you find yourself crying as much as the characters do — in their case, with huge droplets leaking from bulging, egg-shaped eyes so authentic-looking, you expect the screen to get wet. But those are just a few of the unique things about Adam Elliot's "Memoir of a Snail," a film that's as heart-tugging as it is technically impressive, a work of both emotional resonance and great physical detail using only clay, wire, paper and paint. One thing Elliot's film is not, though, is for kids. So please take note before heading to the multiplex with family in tow: this film earns its R rating, as you'll discover as soon as young Grace, voiced by Sarah Snook, tells us she thought masturbation was about chewing your food properly. Sex, nudity, drunk driving, a fat fetish — like we said, it's R-rated for a reason. But let's start at the beginning. In this, his seventh "clayography" (for "clay" and "biography"), the Australian writer-director explores the process of collecting unnecessary objects. Otherwise known as hoarding, it's something that weighs us down in ways we can't see, for all the clutter. Elliot also argues that it helps us build constrictive shells around ourselves — like snail shells, perhaps. Our protagonist is Grace Pudel, voiced with a quirky warmth and plenty of empathy by the wonderfully agile Snook. We first encounter Grace as a grown woman, telling her long, lonely life story to her pet garden snail, Sylvia (named after Plath), at a moment of deep sadness. Then we flash... Read More